POP SENSATION OLIVIA RODRIGO DAZZLES HYDE PARK WITH HIT-AFTER-HIT, AND SPECIAL GUEST ED SHEERAN

One festival which consistently delivers year-on-year with a star-studded lineup is BST Hyde Park. 2025 is no different, hosting the world’s biggest artists: Olivia Rodrigo, Sabrina Carpenter, Zach Bryan, and Noah Kahan. We headed down to London to catch the former. The now 22-year-old pop sensation brought with her Between Friends, Caity Baser, Girl In Red, The Last Dinner Party and many more.

Girl In Red put on a stellar show, battling technical difficulties which left her to do standup comedy. This didn’t faze her, though, confidently keeping thousands engaged with ease. The musician stormed through hits including bad idea!, 4am and I Call You Mine and teased new track Hemingway. The 26-year-old, whose real name is Marie Ulven Ringheim, also opened up about her mental health. This was only her fourth show back, after visiting rehab over the last year. “I wasn’t going to live anymore,” was shared with complete honesty. Hemingway delves into her addiction, ED and depression in a thoughtful way, and it releases on Friday.

Headlining The Rainbow Stage was the stunning Caity Baser. She threw a party for ravenous fans: featuring 2020s, X&Y and Pretty Boys alongside the new one, Watch That Girl. The crowd didn’t hold back, singing along to every word as the sun shone brightly on them all.

The Last Dinner Party were the final act on the Great Oak Stage before Olivia Rodrigo. This was an enormous but deserving slot, considering last time they were here, the all-female group had no released music. This is something Abigail acknowledged with a grin midway through their set: “We didn’t know what to do with a stage this big, but it’s now nice to be back!” Over their hour, the quintet majestically danced through a theatrical set featuring hits Nothing Matters, Sinner and Burn Alive. They also used this platform to play three unreleased tracks: Second Best, The Killer and Big Dog. The latter was a much heavier offering than we’re used to, and we love it. The musicians made the most of the space this time, too, erecting huge Roman pillars dotted around them.

Olivia Rodrigo arrived in style. All it took was looking out into the crowd and seeing the vast purple, handmade jewellery cowboy hats to know that this headline takeover is very much deserving. The American pop sensation put on a life-affirming show for over 65,000 people with a 19-song set. It was nothing other than a pop masterclass.

Both of Rodrigo’s albums (SOUR and GUTS) have shattered records. Her debut went 4x platinum and became the fastest-selling album in history to have all songs certified RIAA platinum or higher. Second effort, GUTS expanded on that formula with a much louder and more introspective take, and shot to number #1. Tonight, the 22-year-old pulled from both, casually bouncing from drivers license to vampire to traitor in minutes.

The set began with a huge rendition of bad idea right? to an eruption of applause. “Oh my God, there’s so many people here I can’t believe my eyes! You guys, I have a really special feeling about tonight. Are we ready to have a f**king good time?”. With pyros, glitter and confetti, Rodrigo commanded her band with triumphant success, with highlights including obsessed, jealousy jealousy and closing with deja vu. On that point, it was incredibly refreshing to see a popstar with a full band, who were also introduced individually later on.

Midway through, she even took a moment to express her love for all things Britain, speaking fondly of a ‘builders tea’, ‘boiled eggs‘ in the morning, and ‘those sweets you get at M&S’. She also exclaimed that London is her ‘favourite city right now’. After the show, we visited a nearby M&S, and conveniently, all of the Percy Pigs were immediately sold out. That homage was made all the more real when she welcomed onto stage Ed Sheeran. The pair walked together to the front of the stage’s long runway before launching into the 2011 hit A Team.

The crowd sang back every word. Some had been housed at the front of the stage for hours before her set, just to get the best spot. One sign exclaimed they’d worn diapers to get front-row, to which Rodrigo spotted and laughed, “I love that, thank you”. They weren’t the only people singing back every word, either. Sabrina Carpenter, Luke Newton, James Corden and Rodrigo’s boyfriend Louis Partridge were also among them.

Returning for an encore, the singer changed outfits before thrashing into a fan-favourite brutal. This was followed by all american bitch, good 4 u and get him back!. Pyro consumed the stage, while the band and Rodrigo galloped around joyfully, watching thousands of people jump up and down. 65,000 people, smiling back.

As she thanks the crowd, it became clear: This was her moment, she’s made it. And a Glastonbury headline slot a few days later? That’s just the icing on the cake for one of the biggest stars today.